Lycosidae care questions.

Arachnomaniac19

Arachnolord
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
652
So a few things. First, how long do they live? I've read 18 months to four years on average. Also, how often and what sized prey should I feed them (size being relative to their legspan)? What temperature should I keep them at (18 or 21 during winter and 21 or 25 during summer are options)? Also, for my native species, what humidity do they require? Alberta is pretty dry, but I've seen some near lakes and ponds. I'm assuming that they're Pardosa spp. or something closely related. How do I tell different species (local ones) apart if I want to breed them?
Any and all help is appreciated!
 

pannaking22

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
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Nov 25, 2011
Messages
4,226
You should get a couple years out of the larger genera, maybe longer with Geolycosa. Room temp should be fine. Lycosids tend to like some humidity with good ventilation, but this will vary between different species, mostly depending on their habitat. Pardosa is probably the most common up there since that's a very widespread genus.

This should help you figure out what's around. http://bugguide.net/adv_search/bgse...dult=&immature=&male=&female=&representative=
 

Arachnomaniac19

Arachnolord
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
652
You should get a couple years out of the larger genera, maybe longer with Geolycosa. Room temp should be fine. Lycosids tend to like some humidity with good ventilation, but this will vary between different species, mostly depending on their habitat. Pardosa is probably the most common up there since that's a very widespread genus.

This should help you figure out what's around. http://bugguide.net/adv_search/bgsearch.php?user=&taxon=1967&description=&location[]=AB&county=&city_location=&adult=&immature=&male=&female=&representative=
So how much and how often should I be feeding these guys?
 

pannaking22

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 25, 2011
Messages
4,226
So how much and how often should I be feeding these guys?
I'd throw something in every third day or so. Keep an eye on how big the abdomen is and you can estimate from there. These guys will just keep on eating until it looks like they're going to explode, so it's definitely worthwhile to meter the feeding a bit.
 
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